


Signs and Meaning

by Tinybit92



Category: RWBY
Genre: Cuddling, F/F, Fluff, post volume 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 06:38:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17596328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinybit92/pseuds/Tinybit92
Summary: “Hey, Weiss,” Ruby's voice came out unusually soft. Weiss opened her eyes and glanced to her side again to find a pensive look on her partner's features. “Can I tell you something kind of personal?”Color is important in the world of Remnant. After a long day of dealing with the nonsense that is Atlas, Ruby confides in Weiss about why her choices in color drew to her to her.





	Signs and Meaning

**Author's Note:**

> I knocked this out in a couple days after that finale left me with a mighty need for some more White Rose.

Weiss had forgotten what true exhaustion felt like until she was forced to come back to Atlas _yet again_. While having her team with her this time did reduce her stress exponentially, it did absolutely nothing to lessen the migraine that was Atlesian politics. After another long day of having to deal with the military's paranoia, General Ironwood's ever-slipping grip on reality, and doggedly avoiding anyone even tangentially related to the Schnee Dust Company, she was just about ready to pass out.  
  
With that in mind, the first thing the former heiress did upon entering their temporary living quarters was to find the nearest bed and fall backward onto it. The sound the pillow made as her head hit it was oddly satisfying. It was still early for sleep of course, but this moment of stillness was everything she needed right now.  
  
Weiss was mildly surprised a moment later when, instead of using her own bed, Ruby flopped down onto the mattress beside her. The brunette let out a fatigued groan as she landed face down. “Why are these people like this?” Her words were muffled as she spoke without lifting her head.  
  
“A question I have been asking myself my entire life.”  
  
Ruby laughed weakly.  
  
“Why are you in my bed?” There was no venom in Weiss's voice as she asked, merely mild curiosity.  
  
“Because we've both had a really long day, and I don't know about you, but I need to be physically close to someone I trust to help me feel better.”  
  
Weiss smiled. “Well, I don't know that I _need_ you near me right now, but I can't say I don't appreciate it.”  
  
Her partner gave a sleepy giggle. “Aw, you really do like me, huh?”  
  
“More than I reasonably should.”  
  
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, simply enjoying the calm and the other's presence. Weiss listened to Ruby's breathing as her own slowed and evened out with her sense of relaxation. There really was something soothing about having her near, not that she would ever tell her that. Perhaps it was just that they'd been apart for so long after nearly a year of sleeping a few feet away from each other. What had initially been an annoyance became her new normal, and having it gone felt wrong. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all.  
  
Weiss was pulled from her silent musings by a light tugging sensation at her hair. She glanced to her right to see Ruby, still laying on her stomach, but having turned her head sideways to face her. She was gently playing with the ends of Weiss's ponytail, running her fingers through strands of white. Silver eyes glanced up to catch icy blue staring back at her, and she gave a soft smile.  
  
“I always thought your hair was really pretty, ever since we met, but I wasn't expecting it to be this soft.”  
  
The compliment pulled another small smile from the older girl. “Thank you, Ruby. I'd like to say the same, but we both know I wasn't exactly the nicest person when we met.” She could see her partner trying to suppress a grin. “I was actually convinced for the first few weeks we knew each other that your hair color was some edgy teenage fashion choice.” Ruby snorted. “It wasn't until we'd been living together for over a month, and I still hadn't seen a single hint of hair dye, that I finally realized your hair just naturally creates that gradient.”  
  
Light laughter filled the air, the younger huntress turning on her side and curling slightly closer to her partner in her attempts to suppress her mirth. “Were you just trying to find anything to hate about me?”  
  
“Not hate,” Weiss defended. “More like criticize,” she added in a lower tone.  
  
“Well, sorry to disappoint critical-first-semester-Weiss, but I get my hair from my mom.”  
  
Weiss watched her smiling friend as she continued to gently comb her fingers through her hair. It occurred to her that just a year ago she likely would've tried to kill Ruby for something like this. An invasion of personal space, touching her without permission, lazing around instead of studying or training. Time, and a certain vibrant red rose, had made her a very different person it seemed. She closed her eyes as a blanket of silence fell over them once more, allowing herself to focus on the pleasant feeling created by the light tugs at her scalp from Ruby untangling snowy locks.  
  
“Hey, Weiss,” Ruby's voice came out unusually soft. Weiss opened her eyes and glanced to her side again to find a pensive look on her partner's features. “Can I tell you something kind of personal?”  
  
“Yeah, I'm listening.”  
  
Ruby's mouth quirked into something just shy of a frown, her eyes locked on the strands of hair still tumbling between her fingers rather than meeting her partner's gaze. “I don't have a lot of memories of my mom, but the ones I do have are all really clear and detailed. I guess I spent so much time thinking about her after she died, that I sort of burned it all into my brain.”  
  
Weiss's breath hitched in surprise. Ruby never talked about her mom.  
  
“Most of the stuff my mom used to wear was black. Black skirts, black shirts, black shoes; and the reason she wore so much black was to contrast with her cloak. She had a long, hooded one, like mine. The inside was lined red, but the outside was this pure, beautiful white. It was always totally spotless, which was crazy, because she was a _huntress_. Like, you know what can happen to our clothes in a fight.” She laughed lightly, glancing down at the holes in her own stockings. “I don't know for sure if maybe she was just really obsessive about washing it, but Dad always said it was like that because she was too fast and smart for anything to touch her.” There was a fond smile on the young huntress's face, but her eyes looked focused on something distant. She seemed hesitant to continue speaking.  
  
“That day in the Beacon courtyard, when I knocked over all your luggage, I was already so nervous just to be there. I remember realizing what I'd done, looking up to try and apologize and then as soon as the sorry was out of my mouth, I saw you and kind of forgot how to talk for a minute. All I could think about was how much white you were wearing, and how bright and pretty your hair was. Then I realized you were yelling at me, and that sent me down into a whole other spiral.” Her smile was more noticeable now, and her cheeks dusted with pink as she twisted strands of white around her fingertips.  
  
“Then we saw each other again in the hall, and you were _still_ yelling at me, but this time I noticed that the inside collar of your jacket was red. I remember my heart doing this funny sort of nervous flip seeing white and red like that again. When we ran into each other in the forest though, that was sort of when I decided it had to mean something, that it must be some kind of sign. I thought, maybe, my mom was looking out for me, sending me this little message to let me know that you were _supposed_ to be my partner.” Ruby closed her eyes with a soft sigh, the blush on her cheeks only growing, and Weiss had never been so acutely aware of her own heartbeat.  
  
“I know, it's stupid,” she continued in an even quieter tone. “But, I don't know, I guess it just made sense to me.”  
  
“Hey.” Weiss rolled onto her side to face her partner, placing her left hand on Ruby's cheek, holding her face so she would meet her gaze. There was something akin to fear in those silver eyes she'd grown to love so much. “It's not stupid,” she reassured once she had her attention.  
  
“It's not?” She almost sounded like she didn't believe her.  
  
Weiss leaned forward to place a kiss on Ruby's forehead. The former heiress didn't know if her impulsive action was simply a response to the way her partner had just bared her soul to her, or if it meant something more, but she knew she would never forget the way Ruby's breath seemed to catch when her lips met her skin. “Of course not,” she whispered, “it's beautiful. Thank you for sharing that with me.”  
  
Ruby breathed out a relieved sigh and tucked her head beneath Weiss's chin, scooting just a bit closer across the sheets. “Thanks for being my partner.”  
  
Weiss gave a half-hearted scoff. “I made a promise, didn't I?” Her hand had slid to the back of Ruby's neck, and she began to thread her fingers through her hair. Ruby shivered at her touch before slipping her own arm around Weiss's waist to pull her closer still.  
  
“Yeah, you really have been the best teammate I could ask for.” Weiss could feel Ruby's breath against her throat as she spoke and had to suppress a shudder of her own.  
  
Ruby always smelled of roses, which was no surprise given her semblance, but the smell of it in her hair, barely an inch bellow Weiss's nose, was dizzying. She never wanted this feeling to stop.  
  
“If your mother really did have a part in bringing us together, then I have a lot to thank her for.” Weiss was more grateful for Ruby's presence in her life than she could ever put into words. If Summer's spirit was truly watching over her daughter in some way, Weiss would spend the rest of her life proving to her that she'd made the right choice.  
  
They drifted into a peaceful slumber in each other's arms.


End file.
